Touch Football vs Rugby League: 9 Differences That Decide Which Code Suits Your Team
Touch football is a non-contact version of rugby league. Tackles are replaced by a touch, six players take the field instead of thirteen, and matches run forty minutes.
Most clubs assume the two codes need the same kit and the same planning. That assumption costs money. Team Spirit Sports supplies both, and the differences matter.
This guide covers touch football vs rugby league across contact, squads, field size, possession, scoring and uniform requirements.
Key Takeaways
- Touch football replaces the tackle with a touch, so there is no contest for the ball on the ground.
- Touch fields six players per side on a 70m by 50m field. Rugby league fields thirteen on a full-size pitch.
- Both codes use a six-count, but touch resets with a rollball and league with a play-the-ball.
- A touchdown is worth one point. A rugby league try is worth four.
- Kit requirements differ enough that clubs running both codes need one supplier and two specifications.
Touch Football vs Rugby League: The Short Answer
Touch football began as rugby league with the contact removed. It now runs under its own rules and its own governing body.
The practical difference is contact. Rugby league is a full tackling sport. Touch football is not, and almost every other rule follows from that.
A Rugby League Offshoot, Now Its Own Sport
Touch was codified in Sydney in the late 1960s by rugby league club members. It was built as an off-season skills game.
Six decades later it stands alone. The rules, the field, the scoring and the playing calendar are all its own.
Touch Football vs Rugby League at a Glance
Here is the comparison in one view. Each point is covered in detail further down.
- Contact: a touch on any part of the body, clothing or ball, versus a full tackle to ground.
- Players on the field: six per side, versus thirteen per side.
- Squad size: up to fourteen with unlimited substitutions, versus seventeen with capped interchanges.
- Field: 70m by 50m, versus roughly 100m by 68m plus in-goals.
- Match length: forty minutes, versus eighty minutes.
- Possession: six touches, versus six tackles.
- Restart: rollball, versus play-the-ball.
- Scoring: one point per touchdown, versus four points per try plus goals.
- Kicking: none at all, versus a core skill.
Contact Is the Core Difference
What Counts as a Touch
A touch is minimal contact with the ball carrier. It can be made on the body, the clothing or the ball itself.
Either team can initiate it. The player making the touch calls it, and the referee counts it.
What a Tackle Involves
A rugby league tackle brings the ball carrier to ground. It is contested, physical and central to the sport.
That single difference changes training loads, injury risk and insurance. It also changes what players wear.
Players, Squads and Substitutions
Six on the Field vs Thirteen
Touch football puts six players on the field per team. Squads run up to fourteen, with unlimited substitutions.
Rugby league puts thirteen on the field. Teams carry a bench of four, with a capped number of interchanges.
What That Means for a Club
Smaller squads make touch far easier to field. A side of ten covers a full season comfortably.
Rugby league needs numbers. Most clubs carry seventeen or more to cover injuries and suspensions. The larger the squad, the earlier you should collect team uniform sizes.
Field Size and Match Length
Field Dimensions Compared
A touch field is 70 metres from scoreline to scoreline and 50 metres wide. That is roughly the width of a rugby pitch used lengthways.
A rugby league field is about 100 metres between try lines. Width runs up to 68 metres, plus in-goal areas at each end.
How Long Each Game Runs
Touch matches run forty minutes, split into two twenty-minute halves. Social competitions often run shorter.
Rugby league runs eighty minutes across two forty-minute halves. The gap in physical load is significant.
How Possession Works
Six Touches, Six Tackles
Both codes give the attacking team six plays before possession changes. The similarity ends there.
In touch, the count resets after a touchdown or a turnover. There is no kick on the last play to gain ground.
The Rollball and the Play-the-Ball
A touched player stops, places the ball on the ground and steps over it. This is the rollball.
Rugby league uses the play-the-ball, where the tackled player rolls the ball back with a foot. The two look similar and are not the same.
The Dummy Half Rule
In touch, the dummy half cannot score and must not be touched in possession. Either event hands the ball over.
Rugby league places no such restriction on its dummy half. Hookers score regularly from close range.
Defensive Retreat
Australian touch rules require the defending team to retreat seven metres after a touch. Defenders who fail to retire are out of play.
Rugby league defenders retreat ten metres. The marker stays at the ruck.
Scoring Compared
Scoring is where the two codes look least alike. Touch keeps it simple.
- Touch football: a touchdown is worth one point. There are no goals, no conversions and no field goals.
- Rugby league: a try is worth four points and a conversion two. A penalty goal is two and a field goal one.
That simplicity is deliberate. Touch was designed to keep play moving without stoppages for kicks.
Kicking, Scrums and Set Pieces
Touch football has no kicking at all. The ball cannot touch the ground, so a dropped pass is a changeover.
There are also no scrums, no lineouts and no rucks. Play restarts with a tap or a rollball.
Rugby league keeps kicking as a core skill. It also retains scrums, although they are largely uncontested.
Who Each Code Suits
Social and Mixed Teams
Touch is Australia's largest social sport, with mixed, men's, women's and junior divisions. On participation alone it ranks among the most popular sport in Australia options.
Mixed competitions require a set balance of male and female players on the field. Rugby league is generally single gender at senior level, though both codes now run strong women's pathways.
Juniors and Schools
Schools often start with touch because it needs no protective equipment and carries lower injury risk. Fields can be marked on any flat grass surface.
Rugby league suits clubs with established junior structures and qualified contact coaching. Either way, custom school sports uniforms need to survive a full term of wear.
Growing players complicate every order. Our guide to junior sizing sportswear covers how to build in room without buying twice.
Season Length and Commitment
Touch competitions often run in short summer blocks of eight to ten weeks. That makes it one of the simplest summer sports in Australia to commit to.
Rugby league runs a winter season with weekly training and travel. Committees should weigh that before promising families a schedule.
Pathways Between the Codes
Plenty of NRL players came through touch football. The passing, support play and evasion transfer directly.
The reverse also holds. League players move into social touch for fitness without the contact load.
What Each Code Costs a Club
Where the Money Goes in Touch
Touch costs less to start. There is no protective equipment, no goalposts and no contact coaching accreditation.
The main line items are registration, referee fees and playing shirts. Understanding custom jersey cost in Australia makes that third item far easier to forecast.
Where the Money Goes in Rugby League
Rugby league carries more fixed cost. Ground hire, goalposts, first aid and accredited coaching all sit on the budget.
Kit is also a larger order. Thirteen starters plus a bench means more garments and more size variation. Getting sports club budgeting for new uniforms right removes most mid-season surprises.
Kit and Uniform Requirements Differ
What Touch Teams Need
Touch kit is light. A numbered playing shirt, shorts or tights, socks and moulded footwear cover it.
Numbers on the back are the one firm requirement in most competitions. Associations check them at sign-on, which is why sublimation printing beats heat-pressed numbering here.
What League Teams Need
Rugby league kit has to survive contact. Seams, collars and fabric weight all matter more.
Good rugby jersey design accounts for that from the first sketch. Clubs also budget for training tops, warm-up gear and match socks across more players.
Where the Two Kit Lists Overlap
Shorts, socks and training apparel can be shared across both codes. Playing shirts cannot.
The cut, the weight and the numbering requirements differ. Clubs that try to use one shirt for both usually end up facing a mid season uniform reorder.
Team Spirit Sports and Clubs That Run Both Codes
Plenty of Australian clubs now field a league side and a touch side under one badge. Ordering for them separately is where consistency breaks down.
Our view at Team Spirit Sports is simple. Both codes should be built from a single colour and artwork specification. Two suppliers means two slightly different blues, and committees notice at the first joint presentation night.
Our licence sits under the Touch Football Australia and Queensland Touch Football Apparel Licensing Program. It holds from 2026 to 2028. Seven jurisdictions sit inside it: Queensland, the Northern Territory, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and the ACT.
That licence means association specifications are built in before your first proof. Your touch shirts and your league jerseys leave the same production run with matching colour.
Choosing Between Touch Football and Rugby League
Touch football vs rugby league is rarely an either-or decision for a club. The two codes feed each other.
Choose touch for accessibility, mixed participation and low barriers to entry. Choose rugby league where contact skills, structured coaching and a junior pathway already exist.
Whichever code you run, lock the kit specification before registrations open. Our club kit order process sets out each stage so nothing arrives as a surprise.
Build your squad kit with our 3D design tool, or contact our team for a tailored quote.
Touch Football vs Rugby League FAQs
Is touch football the same as rugby league?
No. Touch football started as a rugby league variant. It is now a separate sport with its own rules and governing body.
How many players are in a touch football team?
Six players take the field per team. Squads can carry up to fourteen with unlimited substitutions.
Can you tackle in touch football?
No. Any contact beyond the minimum force needed to make a touch is penalised as a heavy touch.
Can you kick the ball in touch football?
No. Kicking is not permitted, and the ball may not touch the ground at any point in play.
How big is a touch football field compared to rugby league?
A touch field is 70 metres by 50 metres. A rugby league field is around 100 metres long and up to 68 metres wide.
Is touch football safer than rugby league?
Touch removes tackling, so contact injuries are far less common. Soft tissue injuries from sprinting and direction changes still occur.
Do touch football and rugby league use the same ball?
No. A touch ball is oval and slightly smaller than a rugby league ball.
Do you need boots to play touch football?
Not strictly. Moulded-sole boots give better grip for the direction changes involved. Trainers are acceptable on firm, dry ground.